Placing 12V battery charger pigtail permanently?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by pasadena_commut, Apr 10, 2023.

  1. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Can somebody share pictures of a 12V battery charger pigtail permanently attached to their Gen 2 Prius?

    I'm not sure what would be the best way to go about this if attaching to the fuse box. It looks like it would need a hole cut in the fuse box lid to let the positive cable through, and I would rather not do that. Maybe it is possible to fish the positive cable up the same channel as the main power cable? I would have to make a custom pigtail for that, as the one that came with the charger only has 2" of wire between its fuse and the ring connector, and the ring connector has a big plastic molding at the base of the spade which is too fat to fit in alongside the existing cable in that channel.
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    One of these days I'll getting around to installing exactly this pigtail from my power sports equipment they sell them at Walmart The battery charger people make them as a plastic cap on it etc etc's about 16 in long I could just mount it directly to the battery positive and negative is marked and run it up past the plastic tray and just have it sitting there in between the plastic tray and the velor panel like kind of at the back of that so then I could pull up the extra two or three inches or so pull the cap off connect it if I'm using the right trickle charger with the thinner cable and the opposite end of the plug already on the charger I can just close the trunk lid the cable will be fine very small
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    There's a connection point on third gen under-hood fuse box, explained in this @NutzAboutBolts video. Second gen "might" be similar.

     
  4. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    That looks similar to what appears to be a sliding shield over the cable on the 2nd Gen model. It has a separate red flip over cap that covers the jump point. (Ever seen one of those movies where they are going to launch a weapon and have to flip a protective shield over the switch first? It is like that.)

    If I go that way I'm still going to have to make a custom pigtail. Usually these have the fuse really close to the positive terminal (for obvious reasons), and they don't leave enough clearance to put that sliding shield back on after attaching it to the screw. Hmmmm. If I get a little strip of metal, drill a hole in it and bend it into an L (as viewed from the long thin side), then it could go between the the main 12V cable and the fuse box wall. I think the spade on that cable is copper, so it would probably have to be a similar material. File the lower end just right and it could act as a male spade for a crimped on female receptor on the pigtail. Or some other similar sort of connection. Put that half way down the shield and it wouldn't be exposed even if the female side fell off, as it would be recessed by .5 to 1 inch. That would be pretty easy to make. Cut off the positive ring connector and crimp on the female spade receptor. Has to be thin enough for it all to fit under the shield though.
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    wouldn't it be easier to connect to the battery?
     
  6. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    If one end of the pigtail goes to the battery, how does the other end find its way to the outside of the car?

    I'm thinking that having it terminate right at the grill (coming from the fuse box) would allow the battery tender to be hooked up to the car without having to open anything. With the bonus feature that it can be used to power the vehicle if the battery dies, to provide access through the hatch. Also to take a battery reading without having to leave the hood open the night before. Terminating just in front of the windshield would be OK too, but I suspect if I tried that water would inevitably work its way back down the wire into places it shouldn't be. That can be avoided when going to the grill by having a low point in the path between the fuse box and the grill.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there's a drain hole below the battery you could use, but maybe it's not as easy as i thought.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I connected a quick-connect harness at the under-hood fuse box, but left the plug-in under the hood. Maybe paranoia, but if the plugs coming out through the grill, someone could do a Walter White on the battery, shorting it out with a paper clip. Rain water getting into the plug might do the same??
     
  9. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    The connector is capped. If somebody shorted the two connectors it would just blow the fuse in the pigtail. They use one of those sideways mounted standard auto fuse gizmos.
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Oh yeah, that’s right. Mine does have a fuse too. (y)